Yeah, this whole jail thing as an unquestioned default response to crime is odd to me. What's the point?

Punishment? If so, is this the only kind of punishment?Deterrence?Rehabilitation?Stopping recidivism?

Seems to me that the justice system ought to be concerned with preventing reassurances. The drunk who killed my mom and sister (and injured me) had been arrested six times before he hit us. And he killed two more families drunk before he offed himself in a single-car wreck. For reference, this was 1971 Wyoming I'm talking about.

I'm not sure what the answer is, though. I supported MADD in their early days, but no longer do. I'm no fan of checkpoints or the initiative that would connect breathalyzers to the starter of every car.

For me, even after all these years, it's a big can of worms that I cannot really sort out right. I've made peace in a way in that I have to believe that if someone is hell-bent on destruction, there's not a lot I can do about it. I guess I'm not willing to give up or ask you to give up the sanity of living normally (and by that I mean breathalyzers in every car, for example) for the delusion of a perfectly safe world.

I'm not sure what I'm getting at here. Maybe an ounce or two of catharsis?

computerguyUT:Having already proves his complete incompetence, this individual should have his reproductive parts chopped off and be given the opportunity to live out his days in a government work camp.

Just 8 more years for doing the EXACT SAME THING? Stupid.

It's almost like jail is a horrible idea that doesn't work and the only reason we use it is because it lines pockets in the legal system.